General Gerald C. Thomas, a veteran of more
than 38 years of distinguished service which included duty on four continents
spanning two World Wars, Haiti and the Korean conflict, died 7 April 1984
at his home in Washington, D.C.

In 1951 the general earned the Army Distinguished
Service Cross and Army Distinguished Service Medal while commanding the
1st Marine Division in Korea. During World War II he was awarded
the Navy Distinguished Service Medal as Operations Officer of the 1st Marine
Division in 1942. In that capacity he prepared operational plans for the
assault and capture of Guadalcanal and Tulagi. In 1943, after serving as
Chief of Staff of the 1st Division at Guadalcanal, he won the Legion of
Merit with Combat "V" as Chief of Staff of the 1st Marine Amphibious Corps
in the Treasury-Bougainville operation. He was awarded a second Legion
of Merit for outstanding service from January 1944 to November 1946, as
Director of the Division of Plans and Policies at Marine Corps Headquarters
in Washington.

For gallantry in action during World War I,
General Thomas was awarded the Silver Star Medal. He also received the
Purple Heart Medal for wounds received in action, and as a former member
of the 6th Marine Regiment, he is entitled to wear the French Fourragere.

The general was born on 29 October 1894, at
Slater, Missouri, and after attending Illinois Wesleyan University, he
enlisted in the Marine Corps on 28 May 1917. He was awarded a degree of
Doctor of Laws by his alma mater on 10 February 1954.

Sailing for France in September 1917, General
Thomas saw action with the 6th Marines at Verdun, Belleau Wood, Soissons,
and in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive (Champagne). He was commissioned a second
lieutenant in September 1918, and after participating in the occupation
of Germany, he returned to the United States in July 1919. That November,
he joined the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade in Haiti, taking part in action
against Haitian bandit forces until May 1921. In August 1921, he was assigned
to the Marine Barracks at Quantico, where he remained for the next two
years. During that time he was detached for several months of duty with
the guard company at the Disarmament Conference in Washington. He also
completed the Company Officers Course at the Marine Corps Schools.

From November 1923, to October 1925, the general
commanded the Marine Detachment aboard the USS Tulsa. He was then stationed
for two years at the Marine Barracks, Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina,
and for a year at Camp Holabird, Maryland, where he completed a course
in the Army Motor Transport School. In December 1928, after serving as
Officer-in-Charge of Land Transportation at the Marine Barracks, Parris
Island, South Carolina, he joined the 1st Brigade Marines in Haiti, and
became Aide to the Commanding General. He returned to the United States
in June 1931, entering the Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia,
the following September.

Graduating in June 1932, General Thomas was
made an instructor in the Basic School at the Philadelphia NavyYard. He
remained there until August 1934, when he was ordered back to Quantico
as a student in the Senior Course. After completing that course, he was
ordered to China in July 1935, for duty with the Marine Detachment at the
American Embassy in Peiping. He returned to the United States two years
later to attend the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth,
Kansas, and after graduating in June 1938, he joined the staff of the Marine
Corps Schools at Quantico.

In May 1941, the general was transferred to
Cairo, Egypt, as a naval observer, but he was recalled to Quantico two
months later to become Assistant Operations Officer of the 1st Marine
Division. Named Operations Officer of the division in March 1942, he sailed
for the South Pacific in that capacity two months later. He was appointed
Chief of Staff of the division in September 1942, at Guadalcanal, and in
July 1943, he became Chief of Staff of the 1st Marine Amphibious Corps.
After participating in the Empress Augusta Bay operation at Bougainville,
he returned to Marine Corps Headquarters, where he was made Director of
Plans and Policies in January 1944.

In July 1947, General Thomas was named Commanding
General of Fleet Marine Force, Western Pacific. After that unit was disbanded
in March 1949, he became Chief of Staff of the Marine Corps Equipment Board
at Quantico, later serving there as Commanding General of the Landing Force
Development Center. He took command of the 1st Marine Division in Korea
in April 1951, serving in that capacity until January 1952, when he returned
to the United States. The following month he was promoted to the rank of
Lieutenant General and designated by the President as Assistant Commandant
of the Marine Corps. He served in that billet until June 1954, and the
following month became Commandant of the Marine Corps Schools, Quantico.
He retired from the Marine Corps and was promoted to his present rank on
1 January 1956.

General Thomas' medals and decorations include
the Distinguished Service Cross; Distinguished Service Medal (Army); Distinguished
Service Medal (Navy); Silver Star Medal; Legion of Merit with Gold Star;
Air Medal with two Gold Stars; Purple Heart Medal; Presidential Unit Citation
with one Bronze Star; American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
Medal with two Bronze Stars; World War II Victory Medal; National Defense
Service Medal; Korean Service Medal with one Bronze Star; United Nations
Service Medal; Commander in the Order of the Orange Nassau with Crossed
Swords, the French Fourragere and the Korean Presidential Unit Citation.

General Thomas was buried with full military
honors in Arlington National Cemetery (Section 2, Grave 4967)

The Distinguished Service Cross is awarded
to Major General Gerald C. Thomas, United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary
heroism in action from May 22 to June 20, 1951, while serving as commanding
general of the First Marine Division near the Yang-gu-Inje line, Korea.

General Thomas' division was committed to dislodging
fanatical hostile forces from their well-fortified and stubbornly defended
positions north of the Yang-gu-Injo line. After seizing the objective area,
it became apparent that its successful defense required further advance
in the rugged, mountainous region northward.

General Thomas, displaying a superb mastery
of military tactics, terrain evaluation, and aggressive, determined spirit,
pressed forward and, through a series of skillful division maneuvers, secured
vital key terrain features against bitter hostile resistance. To insure
maximum utilization of the capabilities of the command, he maintained close
personal liaison with the forward element and his presence over extended
periods of time and during the peak of bitterest fighting served as a strong,
steadying influence and set a lasting example of valor for his officers
and men. Constantly vulnerable to hostile fire, he narrowly escaped death
on one occasion when the helicopter in which he was riding came under a
vicious barrage of mortar and artillery fire.

His unflinching courage under fire, inspirational
leadership and deep concern for the welfare of his men, contributed to
the repeated success achieved by his command.General Headquarters Far East Command, General
Orders No. 207 (August 13, 1951)
THOMAS, Lottie

Lottie Palmer Capers Johnson Thomas, 98, died
January 24, 2002, at Knollwood, following a stroke. She had been a Washington
resident since 1956.

With her late husband, General Gerald Carthrae
Thomas, a major figure in 20th Century Marine Corps history, and a veteran
of World War I, World War II, and Korea, she served in many foreign posts,
including Haiti, Panama, and the China Theatre of the 1930's and 1940's.

Mrs. Thomas was born May 27, 1903, in Charleston,
Siuth Carolina, a daughter of Dr. and Mrs. William H. Johnson. She attended
the Misses Sass' Dame School, and graduated from Memminger High School
in 1922. She became a member of the first provisional class of the Junior
League of Charleston. She was married in 1924.She was a member of St. John's Episcopal Church,
Lafayette Square, the National Society of Colonial Dames of America, the
Huguenot Society of South Carolina, Club of Colonial Dames, and the Army
- Navy Club.

She was a past president and a 50 year member
of the China Tiffin Club, and a founder and past president of the Marine
Officers Wives Club. She had been a docent at Dumbarton House and a Grey
Lady. She was an avid gardener.

Surviving are two daughters, Tina Bruder of
Alexandria and Ginny Andrews of Washington, two sons, Colonel Gerald C.
Thomas, Jr., USMC (Ret.), of the Plains, Va., and W.H. Johnson Thomas of
Washington, 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Lottie Thomas died on Thursday, January 24, 2002, at Knollwood
in Washington,

Funeral services will be held at Fort Myer
Chapel on Tuesday, February 12, at 11 a.m., burial in Arlington National
Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to All Hallows Guild - The
Bishop's Garden, Washington National Cathedral, Massachusetts and Wisconsin
Ave., Washington, D.C. 20016, or the National Society of Colonial Dames
of America, Dumbarton House, 2715 Q Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20007.